Mass Effect: Andromeda Review (PS4)

When Mass Effect: Andromeda was released in 2017 the reception among fans and critics was not that great. The game suffered from a lot of bugs, bad character animations and generally felt unpolished.

Since the release four years ago much of the bugs and weird animations in Andromeda have been patched up and I wanted to give it a second try. The first time, I gave up after only 6-7 hours because I felt it wasn't worth my time. I hate leaving things unfinished however, so this time I was determined to finish the game even if I didn't enjoy it.

Fortunately, Mass Effect: Andromeda is much better than you’ve heard. It tends to drag out for way too long but there is much fun to be had. The new characters in the game are great. Some of the conversations they have are straight up the funniest I’ve ever heard in a game. It's pretty silly but a good contrast to the more serious tone that the original trilogy had. 

My greatest issue with the game is that it takes quite a long time before it gets to be fun and interesting. There are a lot of names, places and systems to get familiar with first. There is almost too much content. If you want to do all the side quests, Andromeda is longer than the whole original Mass Effect trilogy. Planet hopping almost becomes insufferable towards the end.

When it comes to gameplay, the combat is much improved from the original trilogy. Jetpacks and invisibility cloaks makes enemy encounters more varied. The all terrain vehicle Nomad is your primary means of transportation when exploring and terraforming the different planets. Much like in Dragon Age: Inquisition (which is similar in many ways) there is a lot of verticality to the world and this can be confusing sometimes when you want to get to a specific place on the map.

The playable main character, the Pathfinder, is assigned to find a new home in the Andromeda Galaxy. I chose to play as the female version, Sara Ryder, but you can also choose to play as her brother, Scott. I really think I nailed the face to voice balance in my customization of her, and now I couldn't see her looking any other way. Her voice actor is also pretty solid.

Andromeda is a definitely a diamond in the rough. A very uneven experience. Sometimes it hits all the right notes and sometimes it just falls flat. That's why I can't recommend it to everyone. However, for someone who enjoys putting a lot of time and effort into reading about and exploring the world. Mass Effect Andromeda can definitely be a great experience.